Im building a Wind Turbine.

[Steadfast]

I then sliced open my sheds counter top... so I could make a hiding spot for my batteries.


You will notice that I left enough room to add 4 more batteries when I can afford them.

Outside power outlet shown of on right. 3 phase input power inlet for the future turbine, left, on the side of shed next to tower.

[Steadfast]

Sorry about the delay:
I am anxious to post something for you guys to see and read when the red Perminant Magnent Alternator finally arrives;
so I can get my Wind turbine up in the air with them flashy blades on it, and start pushing some actual electricity down the wires.

Right now, this project is stuck broadcasting elevator music...
http://www.hark.com/clips/nfvjdfqrbs-elevator-music

Oooooooh YEAH.... ;D
Here is some even more annoying elevator music to pass the time while we await the delivery of my PMA...
http://www.hark.com/clips/jmkxvnwlzp-elevator-music

My co-worker even complained outloud about having to hear it!
he he he...


I think today,
I will make a phone call today to ask where the progress is on my PMA so far...

[Steadfast]

Well, I spoke with Tony at Hurricane for over an hour…

He agreed with guys on another technical wind turbine forum I am on, that there is A LOT of “Chinese PMA Crap” and scammers out there, (Whom, I also believe just happen to make blue and black PMAs) and that he too has had some quality control problems along the way, which has lumpped him in with some of those guys, but that he is up to something new and different now with his product line that Hugh Piggot recognises as ligitimate innovation.

Tony also said that in the past he too has been burned by subletting out some of the work to a group of guys which did not meet his standards and produced some products that needed to be refunded. This fact combined with a tornado that recently wiped them out, has lead him to have to move his entire operation back to Virginia, where he has much more control of his product quality.

He also said that because of the challenge set before him by this string, and the fact I am documenting everything, has inspired him into trying out some of his new ideas that should open up a much more improved low wind product line and possible advertising opportunity for him when I finally shoot the video results of my project...

Thus, the delay I have been experiencing in receiving my PMA, is now due to the fact that he has just ordered some custom shaped, MUCH more powerful “elliptical” Magnets, he wishes to use in instead of the old design, in making my now “Experimental Low Wind PMA”.

In fact, He is coming down to the Raliegh/Durham area next week to talk to an new company with some sort of “ground breaking Magnet Innovations” that he wishes to use to build a whole new design for a massive double PMA that flies in a Higher wind environment, and should have an efficiency which has yet to have been seen on the PMA market so far. He claims it will “blow away” the even some of the bigger disc generators… (Which is quite a claim)

At this point in our conversation is when his Super-techie side came out full blast and he began excitedly speaking “Technical PMA Greek” to me about the output potentials of his new larger PMA design. (I was like ..."huh?")

I believe in inovation, experimintation, patience and second chances.
(Heck, even Edison failed several thousand times making the light bulb)

Bottom line,
is that since Tony is coming down here to NC, we are going to “Do Lunch” and he is going to hand deliver my “experimental PMA” to me. He also will bring down some Larger Falcon type blades (7ft span) for me to test out along with my (5ft span) blades to see which responds better in the lower winds and also generates more torque power in my area.

Very exciting stuff…

All I know is that, if I am patient, I should have a very interesting final story to tell here and Hopefully a much more powerful wind turbine than I imagined before I set out on this whole journey with my little ametec motor…

It should be fun!
Of course, I will keep you guys posted....AS I GO!

[Steadfast]

3 steps forward, 2 steps BACK!!!

Well, there are no excellent photos to post on Saturday
because I was way too busy trouble shooting MASSIVE structural tower failures.
These were all GOOD events because they happened now before my turbine was flying.

On Friday I got my hands on a 5 foot long 1 inch thick steel, Mobile home auger/anchor with a 5000 pound pull rating. Like these but MUCH more beefy:


I sunk it fully into the ground and then my father in law and I arch welded 2 large l brackets that formed a hollow “I” beam which was such a tight fit that we had to sledge hammer the exposed ring of the auger inside of it. Then we bolted around and trough the ring to lock them together.
Here is a photo:


Looks good right?
WELL….

When we lowered the tower with it, as the tower became more horizontal it bent the 1 inch thick anchor 20 degrees inside the ground but it stayed firmly unmoved and solidly anchored... here is how bent the winch stand became:


At the same time we lowered the tower we heard a LOUD crack!

I told you guys that for the Tower Foundation we poured a slightly hour glass shaped, 320 pound concrete slab using a plastic bucket with the bottom knocked out of it, to form the nice round top…


Well, as the tower top was only 5 feet from the ground, THE FOUNDATION BROKE, right in the middle, and the bucket part of the foundation separated and began rolling freely, making the steel hinge useless!

Aaaaah NUTS!

At least I was holding the top of the tower when it failed and was able to let the tower down the rest of the way…

To stop me from throwing a fit, I continued to attach the cables and all the parts as if nothing happened.

Once all those changes where complete, I had calmed down enough to think through the problem.

[Steadfast]

Sunday was forecast to be a rain monsoon, so we had to move quick if we were going to fix the foundation.

First we picked up the now seperated “bucket” part of the foundation and cut off the plastic bucket that was buried inside the rest of the foundation. Then we smashed off the concrete that WAS surrounding the base of the bucket. We also chipped at the outside of the smooth concrete "bucket form" so that the new concrete foundation could fuse to it when we poured more. I then when dug 2 feet out from the old smaller foundation a few inches under the outside bottom edge of it.

Because the Bucket base was originally sticking a foot above the ground, we took my chicken’s hard plastic Kitty pool and cut a 2.5ft hole out of the middle of the bottom of it and sliced it out to the edge. I then turned the kiddy pool upside down and rolled it inside of itself to fit the outside edge of the 4.5ft wide hole, making a 12 inch high plastic wall above the hole. We then packed dirt around the kiddy pool to hold it in place.

We then went to Lowes and purchased 1000 pounds of dry “Quickcrete” concrete. I then hand mixed all 12, eighty pound bags, one bag at a time, and dragged each in my wagon 1000 feet and poured each into the top the pool and into the new foundation hole below it. I filled it up until there was a concrete pooling and seeping out the top of the kiddy pool! I then covered it all with a tarp to keep it from getting rained on. This 1320 pound foundation is NOT going to MOVE ever again!
Here is a photo of the new setting foundation, which is just as deep as it is wide:


As for the fix on the winch stand:
I plan to place my anvil next to the base of the stand and sledge hammer it straight again.
Then I will go out and buy a 3 ft long 4 inch wide steel “I” beam. I will burry and concrete the beam 2.5 feet next to the anchor and concrete it in place. Then I will bolt/weld it to the existing winch beam.

That should keep it from bending with the weight when the tower gets 20 degrees from horizontal.

Bottom-line so far:
My tower is now sadly laying sideways with all the cables hanging from it awaiting the new massive concrete base to set, and for the winch stand reinforcement project to be completed.

At least it happened now and not later…

But Hey, I did get the cables attached…

Like I said, 3 steps forward, 2 steps back…

[maplesilverbug]

I had to manually unload and spread two yards of 50/50 soil...

Then I had to till it all together and make rows with a hoe... My back is still aching!

Farmin is HARD work....

I had to build three raised garden beds...turn over the entire front yard...manually remove about 600 sqft of knotweed ....shovel 15 yards of 50/50 and 3 yards of pea gravel...

Yeah...I like farming, too!

It's all worth while when the crops come-a-rollin' in!



p.s. -- I like this thread!

[Steadfast]

Look... the new foundation even came out sort of "festive"...




My father in law and I, plan to knock out the Gin Pole as a new addition to the project this Saturday...



I have at least 1 more week to think about what I am going to do to fix my busted winch stand...
I some one told me to "Think about triangles"...
and it helped me come up with this idea:



This must be better than this mistake:

[PlataTruth]

Thanks Stead for taking the time to post all your efforts with your wind turbine tower, you have obviously alot of work outside and dont need to losing valuable time posting, its appreciated. Trial and error info is worth alot. The schematics are great.
Hey Maple We just had a baby so i took a couple weeks off, i too am putting in 3 raised beds in backyard and removed a hundred perennials from front beds so we can plant more veggies, feel like I've been hit by a truck. Will be all worth it this fall hopefully.
Its great to see people one this site becoming more self sustaining!

[Steadfast]

Making the gin pole:

First we scrapped the bottom 10ft galvanized pole.
Cause ya can't weld gavanized anything with out sickness or death... :P

Here we are hammering in small pipe into the enlarged screwholes at the bottom of the mast to act as bushings for the pivot screws.


weld them into place:


Clean up and re-drill holes through bushings:


Welding the gin pole onto the Mast.

[Steadfast]

Welding on the 45 degree reinforcement cross beam:


The bottom 10ft of the mast - installed.
(The winch stand straightened out but not yet fixed)


Steel clip hole welded to the end of the gin pole:

.
No cables yet... no extra 20 feet added...YET!
soon... but not yet...

We have to get the new reinforced winch stand built.
then we will cable up and test raise the tower again....
.